A Second Chance to Make a First Impression

That's exactly what the Hornets had last night. A second chance to make a first impression. How did it go? I thought it went great, thanks for asking. Opportunities such as this are hard to come by, and I am glad the Hornets made the most of it. I thought the Hornets did a very good job of planning and executing an enjoyable night for their fans, and I don't think anything less would have been acceptable. In order to establish the fan base that this team so desperately needs in order to not only survive, but thrive in New Orleans, there needs to be many more nights such as Opening Night. We can only hope the Hornets are up for such a task.

I was one of the over 15,000 in attendance last night, and I was very pleased. In case you missed it, I decided to keep some mental notes to fill you in on what you missed out on...

6:00 - My party arrives at the Arena. There is a special area called the "Beer Garden" for Season Ticket Holders with free food and drinks. Anytime there is an event that advertises itself by using the words "free," "food," and "drinks" I will definitely be present. Seriously. If Satan threw a party with free food and drinks I would probably still be inclined to attend.

6:05 - We are greeted at the gate by Gilbert Arenas (Hornets Director of Fan Experience, Garrick Amos), who informs me that after reading my last entry, the office now refers to him as "Agent Zero." Glad to see I'm making a difference. Shortly after, I am checked in by Sarah who for some reason recognizes me and calls me by name. I actually like these Hornets employees. They talk to customers and know them by name. I've had Saints tickets for a while now and I don't think I've ever had that happen to me. Granted, the Saints have way more ticket holders than the Hornets, but still...

6:10 - The Beer Garden is a nice little setup. There is food and drinks for everyone and it looks as if everyone is enjoying themselves. I don't eat but take a look at the food and it actually looks pretty good. A woman asks me if I would like a Mojito. My initial reaction is to decline since I don't really care for them, but then I remember it's free so I accept. I take a sip of the Mojito.

6:11 - The Mojito is now in the garbage. I don't like Mojitos. Even when they are free.

6:15 - I am scoping out the scene, enjoying some free beer, when I see George Shinn walk into the Beer Garden. At first he looks like he doesn't know exactly what to do and just kinda walks around. Then a guy comes up to him and shakes his hand and begins talking to him. Now George seems a little more at ease and begins making his way through the Season Ticket Holders and mingling with them. I watch him interact with one woman who is basically talking his ear off and he actually appears to be listening and paying attention to her. Great move on his part. Keep it up, George.

6:18 - George is making his way over to my area.

6:19 - George shakes my hand. We have the following conversation:

George: I've read you on NOLA and I enjoy your work. We could use a guy like you in our organization. Me: Really?George: Absolutely. You can start tomorrow if you like. Whatever you're being paid now, I'll double it!Me: You've got a deal!

6:20 - I snap back to reality from day dreaming. George walks up to us, introduces himself to us and shakes our hands, says, "I really appreciate you all coming," pats me on the shoulder, and walks off. While it was slightly different than the way I dreamt it up only seconds before, I was impressed anyway.

While we're here, does anybody else do that? Like, you daydream and imagine that someone rich and famous will take a liking to you and give you some big time, well paying job that you're not qualified for? Oh. Me neither.

6:45 - The beer and food are shut off and it's time to make our way into the Arena.

7:00 - Tipoff. There are some speeches and introductions prior to the game starting, and even ole' David Stern is in attendance to show his support. Having the commissioner on hand just makes it feel like a bigger event. George Shinn also has some words for the crowd, though he stumbled a bit. "There are wristbands in your bag that say, 'We Believe,' because we do believe in New Orleans and we do believe that we will be in the playoffs." The only problem? The wristbands say "We Will," not "We Believe." And no, it's not a huge deal, but I do think that this shows somewhat of a lack of attention to detail. Just thought it warranted mentioning...

8:00 - Frisbees are thrown into the crowd with the person who catches the frisbee winning a free pizza. My friend Mac, whose appearance can best be described by "swollen" dives over the poor family next to us in order to snag a frisbee. He turns it over to read that frisbee is actually for a free order of CinnaStix when you order a pizza and is immediately distraught. He gets up and leaves.

8:15 - Mac returns with a large pizza. "17 bucks for a large!" He says, somewhat angrily.

8:25 - Mac is no longer distraught or angry, but happy. And full. May the pizza rest in piece.

8:45 - I decide to get something to eat. The line at the concession stand is rather long, and there appears to be a shortage of workers behind the counter. The woman in charge yells to the back, "Stephanie!" No one comes. A few minutes later, "Stephanie! Please come out here and assist these customers!" No Stephanie. Once again, "Stephanie!" The guy behind me yells, "I don't think Stephanie is coming!" Then he moves over a step, closer to the door to the back and yells in, "Stephanie, you should have stayed home! Don't even come next time, Stephanie!" Everyone stares at each other in horror. I am thoroughly amused.

9:45 - Hornets Win!

Since I already covered how well I thought the night went, I will leave you with some observations from the game last night. You know..since this is a sports blog and all...

+ You could not have asked for a better performance last night. At one point in the 3rd quarter, I looked up and the Hornets were shooting 62% from the field. Unreal.

+ The offense looked phenomenal. The Hornets were so balanced last night that it's not even funny. When Paul is penetrating, and kicking it out to a wide open Peja or Mo Pete, with Tyson cleaning up down low and West hitting open 14 footers, this team is going to be almost impossible to defend.

+ Chris Paul gets to the lane at will. Anytime a point guard can get into the lane whenever he pleases, the opposing defense is going to be in for a rough time. Paul getting into the lane consistently and finding open players is the key to the Hornets success on offense.

+ Peja Watch: Games - 1, Injuries - 0

+ I was looking forward to seeing Julian Wright play, but I guess I'll have to wait. Hopefully he can work his way into Byron's rotation. And not the rotation of guys that consistently have a DNP next to their name.

+ As I was watching the game I kept thinking to myself, "We need to play better defense." It seemed like the Kings were getting a lot of open looks and were consistently getting off good shots, but then everytime I looked at the scoreboard we were winning and the Kings were not shooting a high percentage. My point is, well, I guess I don't have one.

+ I thought Hilton Armstrong would get more minutes but he got only 11 to Melvin Ely's 17. Armstrong looked good in the preseason and I full expect him to get more minutes than Ely as the season progresses.

+ Chris Paul, Tyson, Peja, Mo Pete, and Rasual Butler all shot better than 50% from the field. David West just missed the cut, going 7 for 16. We won't have many shooting performances better than last night's. However, if there was a night that they needed to go out and play well, it was last night. Hopefully their play carries over to Friday night when Portland comes to town.